We hear ya! Introducing Loopt version 1.5: the easier way to discover and add friends on Loopt. Available now in the Apple App Store for free – go here to download it.
Let’s do the grand tour. Tap the “+” or “Add Friends” button on your Friends tab. In addition to adding friends to Loopt from your contacts or via entering mobile numbers, you can now view and add friends from “Friends you may know”. Clicking on “Friends you may know” displays friends of friends who aren’t currently in your Friend List. Now you can quickly send them a friend request without knowing their mobile number.
Okay, back to your Friends tab for some more fun. When you tap on a specific friend, there’s a nice new interface with two tabs. There’s the familiar Journal tab which displays all of your friend’s status updates and a new Profile tab that allows you to see who that specific friend is friends with. Go to the Profile tab and tap on “See Friends” to browse through their friends, explore common friends, and add new ones. They just have to accept your friend request :) .
Finally, some of you on the iPhone may notice banner ads in a few spots. This marks the very early phase of testing ads in our service and we want to hear what you think. The results of these early tests combined with your feedback will shape how we deliver ads in the future. We’re already working on new, innovative ad formats that leverage location to deliver more relevant and actionable offers. If we can deliver ads that are valuable to both you and advertisers, then everyone wins. Plus, it allows us to continue to offer Loopt for free – which we think is the biggest win of all.
We’re always working to make your Loopt experience as valuable, informative, and fun as possible. After all, Loopt is a lot more fun with more friends, right? You can look forward to more features in the near future such as Facebook Connect that make it even easier to find and add friends to your Loopt network.
We continue to rely heavily on all the great feedback that the Loopt community has provided us. Speaking of which, how do you like the new version? Leave us a comment and let us know! Go ahead, we’re listening…
p.s. – Please visit our FAQs for more info.
How do I make it so my friends don't show up on the "People you may know" screen for one another?
Posted by: Mike | March 04, 2009 at 05:13 PM
Mike - We received a lot of great feedback from the Loopt community requesting that we make it easier for them to discover and add friends they might know on Loopt. Limited information is shown (just profile pictures and usernames) when browsing through the "Friends you may know" feature until you choose to add them as a friend and only after they accept your friend request.
Posted by: Loopt | March 05, 2009 at 02:43 PM
When will you offer the ability to disable yourself from being seen in the friends you may know?
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 06, 2009 at 05:01 AM
Elizabeth - We really appreciate the feedback. We're still gathering suggestions from the Loopt community so we don't have a set timeline for adding that feature.
Posted by: Loopt | March 06, 2009 at 05:23 PM
How can I get rid of the friends I may know entry. I don't know any of those people and would like the space back.
Posted by: Aaron | March 07, 2009 at 08:47 AM
Aaron - The "Friends you may know" feature continually updates with new friends of friends who aren't currently on your Friends list. As your friends add more friends to their Loopt network, you may discover and add some of these new friends to your Loopt network from this feature - just check back again.
Posted by: Loopt | March 09, 2009 at 11:55 AM
I personally think loopt is useful in other ways. I'm a volunteer fire fighter and we had an emergency call. My parents also on the same volunteer fire Dept were unable to attend the emergency. On my way home from the emergency, after we finished, another emergency arose. It was a car accident. My parents feared the worst because the accident was on same road as fire station. My parents checked loopt and saw I was no where close to the accident. I believe the updates help us during our emergencies! I love the use of loopt during a fire. I leave the phone in the fire truck and get to work!
Search & Rescue
Downsville Fire Dept
Waco, TX
Posted by: David | March 12, 2009 at 11:19 AM
the admob quizzes must go. The first time you start playing it's ok. Then it shows that it will cost you 9.95 a month and you have to read all of the message before you find the monthly fee charge. I expe t more from iPhone and loopt this is something sprint would try!!!!
Posted by: Art finch | March 14, 2009 at 08:00 AM
I would really live to be able to sent someone a convo message then be able to go back into loopt and be placed on the page where I left off. I travel all over and sometimes just get bored and browse page after page of random people and just say hello. But if I do and I was on page 15 of people, when I get back in I have to start at page one all over again until I figure out where I was.
Posted by: Thomas | March 14, 2009 at 01:58 PM
Love loopt! Think the new update is a great improvment, however it would be nice to have a function to block my current friends from being seen in other people's "FYMK" screen. I may not want every1 to know EVERYBODY I'm friends with....
Keep up the good work
Posted by: Ray | March 17, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Art, Thomas, Ray - We really appreciate the thoughtful feedback. Comments like these from the Loopt community (on the ads, saving your spot inside the application, and the FYMK feature) are invaluable in helping us develop Loopt so keep them coming. We have filtered out the quiz ads so they should no longer appear. Thank you!
Posted by: Loopt | March 18, 2009 at 04:11 PM
On the Facebook portion a lot of my friends are identified and using loopt... but on my iPhone, I cannot figure a way to sync/obtain my facebook friends... too tedious to try and obtain everyone's cell numbers just to punch them into loopt...
if the facebook app can talk to the iphone app... can I sync them somehow?? thanks!
Posted by: jeremy | March 27, 2009 at 07:22 PM
jeremy - Just sit tight for Facebook Connect. It'll be here soon!
Posted by: Loopt | March 30, 2009 at 05:16 PM
I think the problem is the implementation of this new feature. It was added totally opposite to past privacy policy. And boy does the word "Privacy" appear a lot on the loopt website, so it seems Privacy should still be a top priority.
In the past it was "You can't add someone unless you know the phone number". There is similar security in place at popular social networking FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn. These other places you have to know the real name, email address or you have the ability to block friends from seeing other friends, or even ask the mutual friend to connect you. There are none of these security measures in place at Loopt with this new feature. You suddenly see all your friends 'friends' and you can add all of them without even knowing any of them.
"Friends you may know" is not really that. It is really "Here is the personal address books from all your friends, you do not even have to know them, they are there for you to grab without knowing them, without permission from your mutual friend".
This feature should never been turned on without talking to users about how it is being presented and implemented. And ignoring emails sent to [email protected] also is not the answer.
The answer is clear and simple:
1) Go back to the original Privacy Policy that was in place when we all originally signed up for the Loopt service. "you have to know the phone number of the other people before you can add them".
2) Before you re-implement this feature in the future, make it OFF by DEFAULT. And let people have the ability to optionally turn if on. (And I bet most will not turn it on).
Posted by: Derek Beda | April 02, 2009 at 10:23 PM
I am becoming less and less interested in Loopt because I can't seem to make new friends unless I add them from my existing friends. While I have a lot if friends, only two of them are on Loopt, and they don't use it very often (one hasn't used it in about a year). I see a lot of people I would like to become friends with, but I have no way of sending them a request. A lot of other more useful apps allow mr to send (or receive) a friend request and then let me decide if I want to accept or keep them.
Posted by: Tim | May 18, 2009 at 02:27 PM
I'm planning on purchasing the new iPhone soon. Will I have to reinvite everyone all over again?
Posted by: Lisa | July 05, 2009 at 08:10 PM